Paper 1: Shared Education: lessons from an education initiative in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland has a denominationally divided school system. During the period of the Troubles many looked to the schools to contribute to the promotion of reconcilation, while expressing concern that separate schools had an impact on community divisions. Research after the peace agreement suggested education interventions had had a limited impact and a new approach, based on a partnership model of collaborative networks of schools, emerged as a new approach. The Shared Education model, based on principles of contact, focus and empowerment, has now been adopted across the education system. The paper outlines the background and development of the approach, and the key role of teachers in taking this forward.